Devil's Backbone
by RaekaLu
Summary: Jolene DeLuca moves to Charming having recently transformed her life and meets the Sons. Will they tempt her to stumble back into her old ways?
1. Chapter 1

"You are late and you don't have a Double-D cup size like your agent said you would." A thin blond in very tall wedged heels yelled while marching in the direction of a very confused, very out of place brunette. Looking down at herself in her black and white techno plaid maxi dress the brunette opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it. _How does someone respond to that?_ She thought.

As the blond got closer, the brunette could see how the woman's flaring nostrils and extra bold eye liner were screaming, "don't mess with me" despite her size zero waist.

 _"_ I think this is a case of mistaken identity," the brunette said closing the door of her Suburu Baja that was trailing a u-haul trailer.

The blond stood in front of her now. Her hands on her hips. The brunette could see behind her that the commotion was inspiring an audience. Scantily clad women and leatherized men were emerging from the warehouse.

"Well what is your specialty then?" The blond demanded, but before she got an answer she started thinking of solutions out loud to her plight. "Whatever, we can modify the movie – I don't know instead of Deadly Double-Ds we can call it Girl Next Door Goes Wild or some shit."

The brunette finally got what kind of "specialty" the blond was referring to and burst out laughing.

"A porn star. You think I'm a porn star. Where am I?" she couldn't control her laughter.

"Wait, who the fuck are you then and what are you doing at Red Woody?"

"Red Woody?" another burst of uncontrolled laughter escaped the brunette but this time the sound echoed around the docks.

"I'm sorry, I just have never been mistaken for a porn star before. Well, at least not to my knowledge."

The blond's arms dropped down to her sides. Now she was the one not knowing how to respond.

"My only specialty is on the ice. I'm pretty sure someone has done a figure skating porn before but wasn't me. I'm just lost. I'm not from around here and I have to find a new ice rink that's supposed to be in one of these warehouses but I'm beginning to think it must be a different section of the port."

"So you're not one of my actresses then? What am I going to do?" the blond covered her face and broke down in tears.

The brunette went to go wrap her arms around the blond, realizing how stressed the poor girl was, when a very tall, very built woman came running over in a disgustingly expensive pair of black heeled boots. "Lyla, sweetheart, it'll be OK. We'll figure out something." As the woman wrapped the blond in her arms, the brunette noticed this was not just a woman. She was a woman and a man all in one.

"Is everything OK here? Seems like you all are having a very interesting day." The brunette asked the other brunette.

"Honey, welcome to Red Woody Productions and the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original headquarters. You'll find not a day goes by here that wouldn't be considered interesting."

"I'll bet."

The blond started to calm her hysterics, pulling away from the friendly embrace of the other woman and wiping her eyes with her professionally manicured fingers.

"I'm sorry. We have a deadline and my star hasn't shown up and the other movie we are filming has just been a disaster. Did you say you needed help finding something?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for Jarry Ice Skating Rink, the owner is Nick Jarry. Does that mean anything to either one of you?"

"The only Jarry we know is the Sheriff, Althea Jarry." Lyla said, adding a sniffle. The other woman nodded in agreement, then add, "Let's ask the guys, maybe they know something."

They went to turn when the blond turned back. "My name is Lyla by the way. This is Venus. What's yours?"

"Jolene," the brunette said with a smile.

The three women, now acquaintances, walked towards the group of guys in black leather who were now standing around in a circle smoking.

"Tiggy bear. This dazzling child in a dress you should take note of for my Christmas gift needs to find Jarry Ice Skating Rink, says its new. Got any ideas?"

" _Jarry_ Ice Skating Rink? Like Althea Jarry?" the man with the wild hair and crazy blue eyes asked Venus while pulling her towards him by the hips.

"Nick Jarry, actually. I'm not sure if he's related to your Sheriff or not" Jolene chimed in.

A man with scars along his mouth and salt and pepper hair scoffed. Jolene turned her head fast thinking he was scoffing at her. He added, "Believe me lass, she's not _our_ Sheriff."

"Sorry, I just got to town. I don't know a soul here, except Venus and Lyla now. I'm sensing there's no love there." Jolene replied then walked closer to the Scot, seeing his President badge and how others looked at him obviously the man with authority over everyone. "I'm Jolene by the way," she said reaching out her hand. The Scot looked her up and down seeming to think over whether she was friend or foe before he extended his own to shake hers. "Chibs".

"You got an address for this supposed ice skating rink?"

"Yep", reaching into her dress pocket she pulled out the wrinkled paper and passed it to him.

"This looks like it's in Zephyr street. This warehouse lot is off of Mariner street. Not far but not exactly close either. How'd you say you wound up here?"

"I have no idea. I decided to get rid of my smart phone to go back to a minimalist life and only in the last two hours did I start wishing I hadn't gotten rid of it too hastily. GPS would have been a lot easier I'm gathering. I don't have a map of the area so I just relied on asking locals. Seems there aren't that many locals in this part of town and those there are all seemed to be terrible at giving directions. Figured I'd stumble on it by accident. Instead I stumbled on…eh…Red Woody." She said Red Woody with a bit of a giggle. The men around Chibs laughed at that too. The girl was clearly embarrassed and a bit tickled by her unexpected surprise of them all.

"No worries. One of my guys will escort you to your location. Any volunteers?" All hands wet up including the guy called Tig but one look from Venus and his hand went back to her waist. "No offense honey, but my man's got a promise to keep on something", Venus said to Jolene while grabbing Tig by the kutte and pulling him inside the warehouse. A smiling Tig trailing behind her. Everyone else just shook their heads and laughed. Jolene blushed at the implication.

Using that opportunity to gain the upper hand over the others a muscular man stepped forward and said, "I'll take her."

"Aye, thanks T.O." The others looked disappointed but didn't say anything.

"Thanks so much," Jolene said shaking his hand hello. They started walking towards the car. Jolene said turning around to talk while walking backwards, "Hope to see you all around town in the coming weeks. And thanks Lyla – good luck with the shoot." Lyla smiled and started talking to Chibs, obviously trying to figure out solutions to her porn woes.

T.O. made his way over to his bike and Jolene opened her car door and quickly got in. She didn't want Nick to be too annoyed with her. That'd be no way to start off a new boss-employee relationship. Though he did seem pretty flexible on the phone about her arrival time.

As she turned the key in the ignition the engine kept sputtering and wouldn't turn over. She stopped for a moment and tried again. Same sound, same poor luck. "What? You made it across the country. Surely you can make it across town." She tried again. With no success she took a deep breath and put her forehead on the steering wheel trying to think what to do now.

"That doesn't sound good." Jolene jumped at the unexpected proximity of a deep voice. T.O. had his hands on the roof of the car and was crouched at her level looking in the window. "Has it happened before?" he asked.

"Not at all. And I just spent three weeks on the road driving across the country taking every diversion I could find. Romeo here has taken a lot of beatings in his day and has been nothing but loyal."

"Romeo?"

Jolene blushed. "Heh yeah. Romeo, like Romeo Santos, I'm kind of a bachata fan."

He smirked and signaled for her to pop the hood.

Jolene opened the door and stepped out. Looking around the dock it seemed everyone but the two of them had gone back inside.

"I'm going to need a few tools, but I don't have them all here. A brother of ours just took over a local garage. How would you feel about us calling their tow and taking Romeo to them? You could leave the U-haul here and get it later. Quinn would give you the club discount I'm sure."

"Sure, anything to get him running again. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't exhausted and really wanting to get settled in quickly."

"I understand. Why don't you come hang out inside. We've got a fully stocked bar and there's bound to be entertainment with the current productions and Lyla's impending meltdown."

Jolene laughed and thought about it for a second. "Sure, I guess. I just want to call Nick so he knows why the delay. I'll ask him for clearer directions too."

T.O. nodded and headed inside while Jolene pulled out her phone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

An hour later after refusing drink after drink the generous bikers offered her, Jolene found herself in the cab of a tow truck on her way to Quinn's garage with a man who made her stomach flutter with a thousand tiny butterflies. The first thing she noticed about him surprised her. It wasn't his tattoos, or caramel colored skin, not even his well defined body. It was his hands. _Capable_ she thought. She watched them on the steering wheel out of the corner of her eyes the whole drive from Red Woody to the garage. When they got out of the tow truck she found herself looking him over one more time but he couldn't have been any more indifferent to her.

"Sign here." He said practically shoving a clipboard in her hands, his voice extra gruff from lack of recent use. It was clear he wanted to be somewhere else. Taking a look around the whole lot something felt off. A large area of the lot was empty with an office constructed out of a rickety looking trailer and the handful of guys on the other side of the lot were working on vehicles but no one was talking and there was no radio on or any music of any kind. _I wonder why such a somber mood,_ Jolene wondered. She couldn't have known that not one month earlier almost literally all hell broke loose in Charming resulting in the loss of a mother figure, a protective uncle figure and three brothers. People from all over the country and even Ireland came to the wakes and funerals to pay their respects, even if one had died soon after escaping from a Mayhem sentence. Things had finally started calming down when just a few days earlier the ex-wife and pseudo step dad who now had custody of their brother's children announced they had sold their property and were moving to Mexico immediately. In the best interests of the children and the dying wish of one of the fathers the members of SOA weren't allowed to say goodbye.

Without knowing all of that Jolene raised an eyebrow trying to think of something snarky to say about his manners. When she didn't take the clipboard right away he finally looked at her. A flash of surprise crossed his face. Her bright blue eyes were gorgeous, but not just mesmerizing, they looked just like the eyes of his fallen brother Jax. That combined with her raised eyebrow he became instantly intrigued in the woman standing before him. A short man in cackys and a button up business shirt break the nice vibe they had going. Clearing his throat loudly and rocking on his toes he signaled his impatience. "Mrs. De Luca, if you could sign there, Hap can take the keys and get to work on your suburu. I've got a shipment of supplies I need to finish opening in the office."

"Ms." She corrected him but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Happy. He smirked at her response causing her to blush and finally break the stare, looking down to grab the pen and clipboard. "Here ya go." She said with a smile to the anxious man, and then asked him, "what's your name?"

"Chucky."

Just then a car came screeching into the lot. With every rotation of the tires shots were firing. Happy quickly pushed Jolene backwards into the office trailer and down to the ground hitting a pile of boxes next to a couch. She felt a sharpness and then a fierce fire throbbing in her shoulder but the breaking glass and loud gun shots won her attention. She tried to cover her head but was hindered by the loss of function of one of her arms and she didn't have much space anyway to protect herself as Happy was completely covering every inch of her body, putting himself between her and the breaking glass and bullets. She tugged her head into the crook of his neck trying to get as close to the floor as possible. Her heart was beating so rapidly the sound reaching her ears, starting to muffle everything else. As soon as the car passed by the office, Happy quickly lifted off of her and ran to the door. She saw him pull something out of the back of his pants but when she saw bright red out of the corner of her eye she tore her gaze from the door to her right shoulder. Sticking out in front was a blade from a pair of metal scissors.

Trying her best not to throw up she quickly looked up at the ceiling trying to breath and weigh her options. She didn't think attempting to stand up was a good idea yet unless she wanted to risk a bullet in the head for the sake of her shoulder and she was certainly not going to attempt to pull out the scissors herself. She decided to just turn to her left side and wait. The pain grew with every second. Finally the shots ceased.

"Are we whole?" She heard a voice yell from across the lot.

A round of "yeas" went around the outdoors.

"Who the fuck was that?" she heard Happy ask a little out of breath.

"No idea" an unidentified voice yelled. "Their faces were covered and the car had no plates".

"Althea and her dogs are going to be here any second I'm sure", Jo heard Happy say his voice no longer short of breath. "Booker and Rusty go tail those fuckers and call when you got a lead. The rest of you, we tell the cops what we know, get a police report so we can get some of this damage fixed, if we even still have an insurance policy, and don't say anything else. You all got that?"

Jo heard a bunch of mumbled affirmations and voices fading out the farther they got from the trailer. Then the sound of two bikes starting up and quickly exiting the lot. Chucky popped his head into the office to check on their customer. Seeing the blood and her still on the ground he yelled "Guys!" as he ran to her side. Relieved she was conscience and didn't appear to have lost a ton of blood he ran back to the door. "We've got a problem. Might want to take care of this before we hear sirens."

Happy rushed in. "Oh fuck. Call Chibs!" He quickly helped her sit up but still on the ground while he assessed the damage. "You're going be alright darling."

A large man with a beanie ran in a beat after Happy. "Christ. Any other injuries? Gun shot wounds?"

Happy looked her over real quick. "Doesn't look like it Quinn. I sure hope these scissors are something Chibs can handle brother or we are going to St. Thomas"

Jolene jumped at the idea of the hospital. "No, no hospital! Is it really that bad?" she tried to stand up and hissed at the pain. Going pale. Happy gently pushed her back down, saying roughly "Hey stay there now, we…" just then sirens could be heard down the street.

"Look, I don't have a lick of insurance and barely enough money to get the car fixed. And I really don't want to announce my visit to this town in a police report. It sounds like this would complicate your lives too. Hide me and find another way to treat me. Please." The words rushed out.

"If you weren't bleeding I think I might kiss you," the large man she now knew as Quinn joked while going to put her good arm around his shoulder to stand her up. Happy pushed him back and easily lifted her into his arms bridal style.

"Get her in the back into one of the vans. They won't check back there. Got no cause."

Just then the cops pulled into the TM lot. Happy and Jolene had already disappeared through the office trailer's door and in the back of the lot.

Chucky grabbed some of the boxes and placed them over the small pool of blood that had collected on the floor behind where Jolene had been laying.

Quinn, patted him on the back. "Good lad," mimicking Chibs.


	3. Chapter 3

Happy gently put Jolene back on her feet so he could free his hands to open the van door. Before she had her left heel lifted to start moving herself into the van Happy had her lifted up and quickly placed reclining in the van, then climbed in deftly behind her and quietly closed the door. The heat was immediately unbearable. They waited in silence listening to the muted sounds of sirens and cop questions. Jolene's occasional hiss of pain the only thing to break the calm as the minutes dragged on. At 30 minutes they had to crack open a few of the windows so they wouldn't bake. At an hour Jolene lifted the bottom of her long skirt above her knees and Happy took off his shirt, every few minutes it came in handy to wipe his sweat. Finally, they heard Quinn yell, "Chucky, go get Hap and the girl."

Happy didn't wait for Chucky, he had the van door open fast. Faster still he had Jolene in his arms and moving towards the air conditioned trailer. The jostling motion had Jolene gritting her teeth but she didn't complain. The sooner they were in the trailer the better. Just when she began hoping Chibs would already be there he came into view opening the trailer door for the two.

"Well aren't we having an exciting day, eh lass?" He asked Jolene as Happy squatted down to gently place her in the middle of the office couch.

"I'd say," Jolene replied, a slight moan escaping her lips.

Chibs guided Happy out of the way and knelt down next to the couch eye level to her right shoulder opening a black duffel bag full of medical supplies.

"I'll have those removed right quick, don't you worry. I've seen a lot worse."

"I've had a lot worse." Chibs chuckled at the girl's remark.

Chibs nodded to the door signaling Happy, Chucky, and Quinn to leave the trailer.

"Wait!" Jolene called after Happy, then looked down blushing at her outburst. "Would you stay? I've had worse but I could still use a…" She couldn't think of a way to end the sentence so she just let it hang out there, feeling foolish. What exactly could she use? A hand to hold? A friend? A non-impaled shoulder to cry on?

Happy looked at her for a second in consideration while standing in the door frame.

"I cause pain, I don't take it away." He said harshly.

Jolene looked up quizzically. His protectiveness of her seemed to be gone. She didn't want to push. Shifting where Chibs was slowly guiding her so he could get a good view of the wound, she replied, "Nevermind. I'll be OK. Thanks for what you did." She tried to manage a small smile but the position Chibs was trying to get her in stretched her skin around the scissors to the point she eventually had to let out a loud cry.

"Christ, sorry." Chibs said while easing her back in the other direction slightly. "That better?"

She nodded her head and watched to see what he was doing. She felt the couch dip to her left. Snapping her head to see who it was she was shocked to see Happy sitting there, a flash of concern on his face before the stone scowl returned. Chibs used that opportunity of distraction to quickly pull the scissors out in one fell swoop. Grabbing the closest thing to her Jolene latched on to Happy's thigh and screamed bloody murder. She felt a strong hand rubbing her back. With her chin to her chest and deep breaths she was able to keep the tears at bay.

An hour later Chibs was gently placing Jolene's arm into a sling. Happy had left when Chibs began stitching her up to go catch up with Quinn on the shooting damage, police report, and no doubt current status of the two he had dispatched to follow the shooters. He walked back into the trailer as Chibs was telling Jo, "Alright lass, that shouldn't take more than a couple weeks to heal. Try your best not to use that arm."

"Easier said than done. I'm an athlete and a righty!" Jolene laughed while looking down at his handy work.

"Right, well. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Hap, I gotta run. You got this?"

Happy just nodded.

"Aight." Turning to Jolene Chibs grabbed her left hand with a sarcastic "Welcome to Charming" then quickly kissed her knuckles and left the trailer.

Happy turned to Jolene. "I doubt I'll get to your car today. You got some place I can take you?"

Jolene sighed, "Yeah, but I need to stop by my employer's office first though to get the keys to my new place. Any chance…" Before she could finish her sentence Happy nodded his head toward the door signaling a yes to her incomplete request for two stops.

"Thanks."

Happy swung around and started moving towards her. Jolene started to back away uncertain what he was about to do. He reached to her left and grabbed a black hoodie off the office desk chair.

"You might want to put this on. You have blood all of over the top of your dress."

"Oh right. Good catch. That would have been…bad" she said lamely. She thought of something and asked, "Happy, do I need…" She paused not exactly sure how to phrase her question. She could see the impatience in his face so she blurted out. "Do I need to worry about being out with you if those guys come back?"

At first Happy didn't respond. Just looked at her, jaw tightened.

The silence got to her. "Look, I'm not an idiot. I know you guys are in to some stuff that goes way beyond porn and cars. I'm not gonna say anything about the drive by. I just want to know, am I safe?"

Happy simply nodded and turned to leave the trailer. Jo didn't go to follow after him. Instead she stood her ground thinking about her options. She trusted him though didn't know why exactly. She watched him pause at the door.

"Our guys have them pretty well distracted right now and the cops are patrolling the streets. They aren't coming back today." With that he left the trailer.

Appreciating his honesty and figuring his logic made sense she followed him.

Once outside the trailer Happy briskly walked towards his bike. Jo realized they'd be taking his bike to the ice rink and to her new home. _Seriously? How am I going to do that with a sling? And what about my suitcase? Oh well, as Chibs said, I'll figure it out._

She went to stand next to his bike and wait for him to get situated.

"Nah we'll take the van. Just need to get my keys from the saddle bag."

"Oh OK." Jolene said, relieved. She started to struggle through her bag for the name and address when she remembered.

"Oh right, before my car wouldn't start, T.O. was going to take me to the rink. He was the only one who had figured out where it was."

"No prob" Happy said quickly taking out his cell phone and flipping it open to call T.O.. After what seemed like a four-word conversation on Hap's part, they were in the van, Jo's suitcase in tow, and on the way to the rink. They rode in complete silence. Jolene was expecting questions about what she did for a living, why he was taking her to an ice rink, what brought her to Charming. But instead she was pleased to not have to answer those questions and more to check out the sites of her new town. Occasionally she'd look over at the hands steering the van. She almost forgot the events that happened since the first time she found herself watching him drive. Rolling down the window for a distraction, Jo felt the cool breeze on her face and admired the red hues of the evening sky. Her first day in Charming was coming to an end.


	4. Chapter 4

**Revised on 10/9/2016** [Sorry guys! If you already read this chapter earlier this month I recommend you reread as it was missing a large section at the end. Still learning this process. Thanks all for your follows and reviews!]

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Chapter Four:

Standing in the back of the rental truck trailer, Jo stood staring at the monolith before her. _Why did I forego hiring movers again? Oh right I wasn't injured then and found the idea of moving myself empowering. I'm an idiot._ Fortunately, the landlord had lived up to his promise to have the inside spotless, cleaned inside and outside all closets, drawers and cabinets, vacuumed, and all painting well done. Jo had moved around a lot in her life and there were few things that irked her more in the moving process than on moving day to find the new space clean only on the surface and with a list of repairs still to be done. She'd frequently complain to friends, "Don't they realize how stressful moving already is – why must they add to my lot?"

As though movers everywhere were mocking her, the first time she remembered to negotiate that with the landlord she had another hindrance to her moving process. Taking out the rental truck key from her maxi dress pocket she was about to mount her attempt to move all the boxes inside single handedly and with one arm at full capacity. But before the key was turned Jolene's attention was called to the sound of motorcycles roaring down her new street. She smiled before looking up knowing full well who was coming to her rescue.

Leaving the key in the lock Jolene moved to the side of the truck to watch the small procession pull up in front of her house. Her eyes immediately found Happy, next to Tig in the first row behind Chibs. She'd known the group for less than two days and was already impressed at their commitment to helping friends.

When Happy had driven her to the rink to meet her new employer and landlord in person Jo had assumed he'd wait outside. In fact, she had hoped he would. Not sure if Nick would rescind the offer seeing who she kept company with. The two men had eyed each other but Jo quickly explained what had happened with her car and that it wouldn't be ready so the garage had graciously offered her transportation. After that she successfully distracted the two men with a barrage of questions about the position and her new place. "Do I handle the U.S. Figure Skating Association paperwork and administrative fees for each student or is there an administrative person here? Do I do the scheduling too? Can I see my office? Any equipment or supplies that should come out of my personal pocket? How do we do the ordering? How does off-ice training work for students? When does planning for end-of-session recital start? I'm assuming I do all the choreography unless a student hires outside, is that correct? Are there public skating sessions where we do lessons or only during designated sessions? Can students work off ice time in other ways? Does my rent get taken off salary automatically or do I pay with a check each month? Eventually Happy got bored with the details and started looking at Nick's office walls. Jo assumed he was looking for clues as to whether he was related to the Sheriff. After a quick tour of her office, the locker rooms, the ballet studio, and the weight room Nick gave her the address of her new residence and reluctantly described to Happy how to get there. Escorting them out Nick waited for Happy to start going for his keys to gently pull Jo aside. Happy didn't intervene having a good idea what the exchange was about. "Since your new to this town I feel I should give you a heads up. The Sons of Anarchy and staff of that garage are not exactly what we'd call upstanding citizens. I'm sure you have been able to tell that by now." Jo didn't say anything or make a movement to show any agreement. Nick continued. "A big part of your job here is community relations so we can increase our client base. Your success in that is highly related to your public image. Please make sure to remember that as you get settled in. I'm putting a lot at risk by hiring someone in this key position I don't know. Your program could make or break my business and I really need this to work. Just nod if you understand and we can talk more about this at another time if you'd like."

Jo appreciated his not trying to hide his motivation behind his warning – his bottom line. But she also didn't think it was right to judge so swiftly. She nodded while saying, "appreciate the welcome to Charming, Nick. I'm confident I can make the program meet your goals. See you next week."

Happy pulled away almost as soon as Jo's door was closed. Not wanting to dwell on the obvious exchange that closed the meeting she asked Happy how long it would take to get to her rental. "Not long" was the only thing he said between the rink and her new home. When they pulled up in front of the house Happy didn't make a move to cut the engine. Jo allowed awkward silence for a couple moments, trying to determine what was expected of her. He'd done her two favors on top of the whole saving her life thing so she didn't expect him to come in and check the house out with her but she also didn't expect him to just drop her off without another word. When he still didn't say anything she unbuckled her seat belt and started to open her car door. "Thanks Happy for the ride. What time should I get to the garage tomorrow?"

"Someone will be here at 11am to pick you up."

Jo went to tell him that wasn't necessary but he cut her off. "No arguments. I'll call you if its not ready and the time will be pushed back. Someone will be here tonight to bring you dinner too since you got no wheels."

Again she went to argue. He just looked at her and for the first time in hours the two made eye contact. She didn't want to tell him, "No" and even if she did she couldn't find the words at that moment. She just nodded and whispered "thanks", then turned to walk up her driveway. His waiting for her to enter the house completely before backing out of the driveway didn't go unnoticed by her.

True to his word a couple hours later while Jo was reading she got a call from a club member asking for her dinner order. It took a few minutes for Jolene to figure out who she was talking to a she didn't quite understand the concept of a "prospect" until after a little explanation. She decided it was kind of like a blacksmith apprentice in the old days. You sign away your life to an expert blacksmith but that doesn't mean you can't get fired. You had to earn the right to learn blacksmith skills, otherwise you would just be a servant of a blacksmith your whole young life. Finally understanding, she asked for his name since she wasn't going to call him "prospect". Bo, as she now knew him to be called, took her order and thirty minutes later she heard a bike pull into her driveway, followed by quick steps going up her front porch steps. She stood up and pushed aside her disappointment that Bo was alone. _You have more important things in your life now than swooning over some guy,_ she told herself, opening the door. Smells and steam of thai food swirled their way into her new home. Her stomach responded immediately demonstrating to her first house guest just how hungry she was. She laughed. "Guess today's series of events got me more hungry than I thought. I really appreciate you bringing me dinner, Bo." She took the bag of food from his arms with her non-injured left hand and motioned for him to come in. He hesitated at the door, but didn't say anything. Jo tried to make him feel at ease wanting to be a good hostess to her first guest and moreover to repay the kindness he showed to her. She motioned again for him to enter and said, "I don't have anything except water and hot tea to offer you but you are welcome to come in and hang out before going home."

"Um, thanks, but I really should get back." He looked down at his feet and then to his bike.

"OK, a prospect's work is never done, huh?"

He laughed, "something like that."

"Before you go, how much do I owe you?" Jolene asked reaching for her purse that was on the inside door knob.

"Oh nothing, it's a gift from the Club."

"Wow, OK. Thanks. Please tell Ha…I mean the Club…I said thank you. I'd like to return the favor one day."

Looking anxious to get back to his bike the prospect nodded and started to turn towards the driveway when Jo asked, "sorry, one more thing. Was there any more, eh, excitement, today?"

Bo turned back around wide eyed and started fidgeting with his kutte. "Um, well, I…what kind of excitement do you mean?" he asked making an attempt to change his expression from startled sleeping-school-child-called-on-by-teacher to calm badass-biker-without-a-care-in-the-world.

Jo smiled at his awkwardness realizing he wasn't supposed to talk about club business like that.

"Nevermind, it's alright. I should have known better. Have a good night Bo." Bo looked thankful she didn't press and turned to quickly move down the steps throwing a "you too" over his shoulder.

Jo closed the door and after a couple attempts at balancing the dinner bag and turn the lock at the same time she managed to secure herself safely inside. 20 minutes later after being sufficiently satiated on red curry and tofu Jolene made up a make shift bed on the carpet with her robe as a pillow and her sarong as a sheet and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

A short while later Jo was jolted awake by the door bell ringing at the same time her cell phone was ringing. Within seconds she was on her feet with her cell phone in hand. Completely disoriented with her heart pounding from the abrupt awakening she stood in one spot without moving trying to get her bearings, figure out where she was, why she was there, what time it was, and whether to answer the door or not. In milliseconds she pieced everything together and chose to answer the phone while peering out the window by the door. "Hello?" She said uneasily. "Ohmygod Jo, I'm so sorry. You sound like you were a sleep. Why were you asleep? It's like 7:30pm. Oh this is Lyla by the way."

"Hey Lyla. Yeah I'm pretty exhausted. Are you also at my door? I don't have a peep hole and can't quite see my porch."

"Yep it's me. Open up. It's really dark out here."

Balancing the phone in the crook of her neck and using her one good arm to open the door she said, "Yeah sorry, I turned off the porch light. I wasn't expecting anyone else." She finally got the door open and was able to welcome Lyla saying, "this is a nice surprise". The surprise for Jo being she actually meant it. Normally in a situation like that she'd be completely bothered by the unexpected visitor waking her up but there was something about Lyla she instantly liked during the morning when they met.

"Yeah I would have called earlier but I only thought of it a few minutes after getting home to my kids and so rushed over here. They are in the car so I actually don't have long at all."

"Oh do you want to get them? They can come in."

"Thanks, but not tonight. Homework and all that. I just realized you left your rental truck at the Club so probably didn't have any furniture or anything to sleep on tonight." Looking around quickly at Jo's living room and seeing her makeshift bed she said, "I see I'm right. Lucky for you I have a blow up mattress for when we have lockdowns…sleepovers I mean…for the kids…at my house…and extra pillows and sheets. I also brought a comforter in case it gets too cold tonight. You know California weather, hot during the day, and freezing at night."

"That's good to know actually, I've never lived in California before. First time."

"Oh really? I can't wait to hear more about where you've lived. We have got to have coffee or something, actually why don't we do breakfast? I could swing by after I drop off the kids at school."

"That would be perfect. The way my metabolism works I'll be starving by 6am and I don't have a ride until 11am when someone from the garage is going to pick me up to bring me to my car."

"We can call Chucky in the morning and tell him I'll just drop you off at the garage after we have breakfast. How does that sound?"

"I'm in. Cool, thanks Lyla. Wow, I've moved around a lot in my life and I can't remember such a welcoming first day before. Even considering…." She pointed to her right shoulder to show Lyla what she meant instead of finishing the sentence. They both laughed at the seeming absurdity of how her day went and how she was welcomed with open arms by the club and with bullets and sharp scissors by the clubs enemy. Whoever that was. Jolene thought about asking Lyla what she could tell her but thought better of it. Lyla had changed the subject by moving towards the nearest outlet and plugging in the blow-up mattress.

"Well, let me just help you get this set up before I take me and the kids back home."

Between the two of them, or rather Lyla with Jolene attempting to help, the temporary bed was constructed quickly. Thanking Lyla again and saying goodnight Jo closed and locked the door before climbing onto the mattress with a content smile on her face. _Much better than a sarong and bath robe bed,_ she thought before sleep quickly took her again.

The next day started with a relaxing morning. Lyla and Jolene shared highlights of their lives with one another. Enough to give them a firm foundation in their new friendship. It was evident to both that major events and details were left out on purpose hinting at similarly complex pasts. Afterwards the day became a blur of meeting and re-meeting people, of caravanning to and from different places in order to pick up her car, then trailer, and to get a tour of Charming and surrounding towns so she could at least find basic things like the ice rink, the garage, Red Woody and the clubhouse, her house, Lyla's house, the grocery store, banks, post office, and the best places for dining and takeout. Throughout each of the day's activities Jolene had to push aside her disappointment that a certain man and his hands were nowhere to be found. A couple times she'd hear a member take a call from the stoic sergeant but she didn't ask anyone, not even Lyla, if he would be making an appearance. She didn't see him until he roared into her neighborhood with the whole club that evening to help her unload the trailer.

Everyone had dismounted, members and some of the women she had seen hang around the clubhouse and garage. The only one missing of the officers was T.O. Lyla was driving behind with her kids in tow. Well her kid and Opie's kids, Jolene thought as she now knew a little of the history of how Lyla had acquired three children. Jolene made a mental note to talk to Lyla at another time about Ellie, Kenny, and Piper maybe being enrolled in skating classes. One look at Ellie and her hurt and trauma was apparent. Jolene was confident she could bring out joy and smiles, even out of children with such tortured pasts. Sports provide satisfaction that can't be as easily achieved from areas of everyday life. She loved bringing that to the lives of children and adults by helping them master new moves and discover capabilities they could never have found off the ice.

Chibs was the first to verbally greet Jolene. "Hello nemo."

Jo smiled.

"How many kids hang around the club that you could pull that reference out so quickly?"

"A few lately" he responded. "It's been nice. We keep them far away from Red Woody though." He winked at the last comment and turned to help her with the rental truck trailer door.

Jolene didn't have to look over to know Happy was approaching. He radiated energy she could feel from a few feet away. From the side of her eye she could see whose hands picked up the first box. She turned in the opposite direction and started up the porch steps so she could prop open the door and start directing where boxes should go. She wasn't surprised to see Bo, one of the prospects, had beaten her to the door. Greeting him at the door Jo started moving her few things from the living room floor moving them to the side to make room for all her other belongings. The first to enter the house was Happy but Jo couldn't bring herself to look up at him. She took her time deflating the mattress Lyla had loaned her. As he put the first box down on the ground not far from her she noticed his jeans had dirt and grass stains over the knees. She started thinking through the different activities he could have been doing to acquire those stains, the activities that had kept him away from the garage and clubhouse all day. None of the scenarios she came up with were appealing to her.

After all the boxes had been cleared the crew started bringing in the few pieces of furniture she had: a bed, a large dresser and matching end table, an overstuffed reading chair and side table, a coffee table, a lamp, a book case, and an l-shaped couch. The guys immediately noticed the lack of a television or entertainment center. Jolene referred to her flip phone again as another indicator of her new goal to have a minimalist life. She explained how she wanted to reset and see if she thought differently without the influence of marketing and mass-produced culture. They listened respectfully, a couple in agreement, but most continued to remark about the absence of the television throughout the day. Occasionally an honest question would come up like, "what about sports?", "what about movie nights with friends?". Tig asked about her dates and began to mime the utility of a movie night when trying to shack up with someone. He got everyone laughing and Jo found herself holding her sides from laughing so much. Somehow the conversation over opening boxes and putting together furniture turned to TV shows and movies people couldn't live without and eventually everyone went back to work.

While the club put the furniture in place, some reciting lines from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kind while they did it, Lyla was going around making a list of things Jo still needed and the other girls were in the kitchen putting away kitchen items in the cabinets and drawers. Jo couldn't believe how quickly everything was coming together.

"Jo, I think I've got everything on this list but let's talk paint. You need an accent wall in your bedroom and in the living room or dining room." Lyla grabbed her hand and pulled her into her bedroom. "What are you thinking? You could do maroon, or a sage green, or if you want more whimsical you could do yellow…" Lyla's voice trailed off as Jo entered the room. Happy was attaching the headboard to the sides of her bed and Jo stopped dead in her tracks. _Of all the club members to be constructing her bed did it really need to be Happy?_ Jo thought. Happy looked up at their entrance but turned right back to what he was doing. He seemed to be annoyed at having to be there and the task in front of him. Tuning in back to Lyla and the list of colors being presented to her Jo went for her default. The sooner she could give Lyla an answer the sooner she could leave the room. _I've driven across the country to start afresh and in less than two days I'm right back into a distracting situation I don't want to be in. What is wrong with me?_

"Maroon would be perfect Lyla. What do you think?"

"Great!" Lyla said writing her color on the pad. "Let's go see the dining room and living room. I'm thinking yellow in the living room and brown in the dining room."

Before exiting with Lyla, Jo turned to Happy. "Thanks for doing that Happy."

He grunted a your welcome or something that sounded like that while Jo followed Lyla.

After finalizing the colors Jo asked for Piper, Kenny, and Elle's help in taking pizza orders for everyone. Elle seemed particularly nervous about doing that but obediently followed her brothers. In no time the essential boxes were unpacked and all furniture assembled.

When the food and beverages arrived Jo asked for everyone's attention so she could share a few words of gratitude.

"I just wanted to say thanks for all your help the last couple of days. I'm lived in a lot of places in my life and I don't think I've ever felt so welcome in my first week. I feel really blessed to have met you all." Raising her beer she said "To new friends".

"Nay, to new family!" Chibs offered.

"To new family" Jo repeated with a bright smile. Lyla gave her a tight side hug that was quickly returned. Jo bent her head and said a quick prayer of thanks for that.

The party continued for an hour more while everyone ate and rested. Lyla left first having to get the kids back early for school. A prospect left with them to escort them home. One by one people left until finally it was just Tig, Chibs, a woman named Marjorie who was hanging on Chibs all night, and Happy. Jo was engaged in the conversation while casually cleaning up remnants of those who had left. She was glad Lyla had a "big dining room table and chairs" on her list of things to get soon. She could tell she'd be needing them sooner rather than later.

"Tig, where's Venus tonight?" Jo asked during a lull in the conversation.

"She's at home talking to her nephew on the phone. They're really close. She would have come but helping with moves isn't really her thing. Brings back some bad memories." He didn't go further.

"Gotcha. Please tell her I said hello though."

"Will do darling"

Jo went to go get another trash bag from the kitchen. Happy followed her in under the guise of getting another beer. He watched her for a few minutes while she looked through the cabinets for the box of bags. Finding one Jo turned for towards the door jumping slightly at his presence.

"Hi, you startled me." She said.

"I could tell. Just came in to see if there were more beers."

"I think you might be out of luck." Opening the refrigerator, it was obvious to both of them she was right. Jo paused anyway at the door taking the second to calm her heart rate.

"How's the shoulder?" He asked. She was surprised he asked the question. Her face must have given her thought away.

"What? I might not be that talkative but I'm not heartless."

"I believe your words to me were, 'I cause pain I don't take it away'. I just figured you weren't interested in my healing process." She could tell her words stung him a bit so she quickly added, "It's OK though. I keep forgetting I shouldn't move it but the shoulder doesn't take any time to yell."

"Did you really think you could unload that whole trailer yourself with it the way it is?" Happy was leaning against the opposite counter now.

"I think I've gotten so used to doing everything for myself I didn't really think it all the way through. When you don't have other options for so long you kind of stop brainstorming them. I always seem to figure it out."

He nodded at the statement. She couldn't imagine he would know what that's like given his tight knit community here.

Jo's inquisitive mind took the opportunity to solve the mystery she'd been toiling with the last couple hours.

"You weren't around much today but your jeans seem like they've had quite the day."

She decided to just make the statement and see if he would offer anything.

Not looking down to see what she was referring to he simply replied, "no more than usual for them".

Already knowing it was not a good idea to pry she let it go.

The two stood in comfortable silence for a while. Tig was the one to end the night by declaring loudly "my woman is ready for me. Let's go! Chibs, Hap." Jo laughed. Saying to Happy, "things are never dull around here with that one around are they?" He laughed and pushed himself off the counter to open the kitchen door, motioning to Jo to step through. As she stepped through Tig yelled, "I heard that. I'm not crazy, I'm colorful." Last reference to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for the night.

She was going to walk them to their bikes but they wouldn't hear of it.

"We're not leaving til the door is locked behind us. Someone will come by tomorrow to install a peep hole and help you with anything else you might need around here." Chibs said before kissing her head and walking out the door with Marjorie.

"I'm guessing there's no use arguing with him?" she inquired to Happy as he passed her.

"None", he said. He stopped at the top of the porch waiting for her to close the door.

"Good night," she said softly, really only for him. He watched her while she closed the door.

Looking around at what was now a comfortable home she smiled and headed to bed.


End file.
